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Who's Who - Sir John Gellibrand

Sir John Gellibrand (1872-1945) served
as a divisional commander in the Australian army during World War One.

Born on 5 December 1872 in
Leintwarden in Tasmania the son of a landowner and politician, Gellibrand
was brought to England by his mother in 1876 upon the death of his father.

Educated in both England
and Frankfurt-am-Main (in Germany), Gellibrand was admitted to Sandhurst in
1882, thus beginning his eventful, if sometimes interrupted, military
service.

Graduating at the top of
his class at Sandhurst Gellibrand's outspoken unconventionality nevertheless
succeeded in alienating him from both his contemporaries as well as those in
senior positions.

Thus despite serving with
distinction during the South African War of 1899-1902 he was unexpectedly
placed on half-pay in 1912 following a wave of army reductions. He
chose to leave the army rather than remain as a half-pay officer.

Having settled albeit
temporarily as a farmer he immediately offered his services when war broke
out in August 1914. Sixteen days later, on 20 August 1914, he was
appointed to the Australian Imperial Force with the rank of Captain and
assigned the post of Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General with
William Bridge's 1st
Division.

Eventually winding up in
Gallipoli via Egypt, Gellibrand drew the ire of Bridges for his apparent
inability to organise an officer's mess of sufficient quality. It is
feasible that Gellibrand - whose staff-work Bridges also faulted - may have
been broken by Bridges but for the latter's fatal wound at the hands of a
Turkish sniper on 15 May 1915.

Wounded himself by the
fragments of an exploding shell Gellibrand returned to
Anzac Cove following
a spell of recuperation on 31 May 1915, 13 days following Bridge's death.
Transferred to 2nd Division in Egypt the following month he returned to
Gallipoli with them in September 1915.

Suffering typhoid for the
second time in October 1915 (having first been taken ill during the Boer
War) Gellibrand was evacuated for the briefest of recuperation before
returning on 23 October. For his ongoing services at Gallipoli
Gellibrand was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) medal.

December 1915 brought
Gellibrand promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and command of 1st Division's
12th Battalion, ultimately destined for Egypt. March 1916 saw
Gellibrand promoted again, to full Colonel and as temporary
Brigadier-General. He was given command of 6th Brigade on the specific
request of divisional commander General Legge, whom Gellibrand had greatly
impressed while at Gallipoli.

On 10 April Gellibrand's
6th Brigade entered the lines of the Western Front. Gellibrand was
soon afterwards wounded by a German shell which struck close to his HQ on 31
May. Following recuperation in England he returned to the line on 28
June 1916 in time for the
Somme Offensive.

His 6th Battalion fought at
Pozieres
and although praised for their efficiency Gellibrand himself drew criticism
for placing his HQ several kilometres behind the front line.

January 1917 brought a
fresh promotion, to Brevet Colonel. He was also nominated acting
commander of 2nd Division until early March 1917. Shortly afterwards
the British Fifth Army commander
Sir Hugh Gough gave
Gellibrand and Pompey
Elliott command of two semi-autonomous brigade groups. Elliott
performed well but Gellibrand accepted much criticism for the ensuing
disastrous Battle of Bullecourt, although his own conduct earned him a bar
to add to his DSO.

Gellibrand's command
failure at Bullecourt severely dented Australian commander General
Birdwood's faith in
Gellibrand, who subsequently asked to be relieved of command; Birdwood duly
obliged. He was sent to command of AIF depots sited in Britain, where
he went on to earn praise for his training methods.

Returning to the Western
Front in November 1917 Gellibrand was handed command of 12th Infantry
Brigade, which performed well at Dernancourt in April 1918 in halting the
German advance.

Surprisingly appointed to a
divisional command on 30 May 1918 - over the head of the arguably better
suited (if insufferable to authority) Pompey Elliott - Gellibrand was given
3rd Division by Birdwood. Although Birdwood himself doubted the wisdom
of giving Gellibrand a division (and was particularly horrified at
Gellibrand's practice of dressing as a private soldier) he nevertheless
accepted the advice of Major-General
Cyril White.

In line with his new
command Gellibrand was accordingly promoted Major-General on 1 June 1918.
Despite the misgivings of Birdwood and former divisional commander
Sir John Monash, and
Gellibrand's frequent disagreements with the latter, he nevertheless
performed well in his new role.

Following the
armistice
Gellibrand was knighted by
King George V on 1
January 1919, afterwards returning to Tasmania where he served in local
government positions.

In 1921 while in Melbourne
Gellibrand was appointed to command of 3rd Division, retaining the position
until his return to Tasmania the following year.

He entered Federal politics
in November 1925 and was elected to represent Denison; however he suffered
electoral defeat in both 1928 and 1929, after which he returned to his
pre-war farming career.

Gellibrand was occasionally
consulted during the 1930s by Prime Ministers Lyons and Menzies regarding
defence matters; Gellibrand remained committed to a strong national defence
and increased army.

The Second World War
brought Gellibrand an appointment as commander of the Victorian Volunteer
Defence Corps in June 1940, although ill-health caused him to retire the
following month.

He died on 3 June 1945 aged
72.

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